Regulatory Reform Dialogue's first meeting to support ASEAN economic integration

Jakarta has hosted the first ASEAN Regulatory Reform Dialogue (ARRD).

Chaired by Dato Lim Jock Hoi, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Brunei Darussalam, the ARRD provides an avenue for the exchange of views and information on regulatory reform efforts and policy measures, and to discuss measures and activities to take forward ASEAN initiatives on regulatory reform related issues.

"ASEAN is diverse and there is no 'one size fits all' formulation to address regulatory reform .. but there is scope for a degree of regulatory coherence in many areas, especially in areas committed under the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Blueprint," said Dato Lim said.

"For a successful regulatory reform to take place, it is important that we bring in the private sector and other stakeholders to participate in the regulatory reform and policy-making process," the Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for ASEAN Economic Community, S. Pushpanathan, said.

Specialists in structural and regulatory reforms from the World Bank and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Secretariat, shared their knowledge, tools, approaches and experiences at the Dialogue.